Gong didn't get annoyed, took the tea cup and smiled: "Forget it, Ye Lin is right, I'm only eighteen years old, how dare I be her mother? Just call me Mrs. then."

  Ye Jiaming saw that Mrs. Gong was not angry, and knowing that the old lady had always doted on Ye Lin, it was better to let this matter pass lightly rather than make a big deal out of it. He withdrew his hand, but still gave Wang Xiang a fierce glare. He resented Wang Xiang and Ye Lin for making him lose face in front of Mrs. Gong!

  Ye Lin saw that Gong's compromise was satisfactory, and she took the red envelope handed over by her mother-in-law, pinched it, and found that there seemed to be a small silver ingot inside. She pouted and was pulled down by Wang's wife.

  Ye Zhuo watched the intense struggles and intrigues of today, and knew that Gong Shi was not a simple woman. Thinking again about her proposal to demote herself as a concubine being rejected by Ye Yu Zhang, she knew that this ceremony of offering tea would not go smoothly.

  Thinking so, she slowly walked up to the cushion and knelt down without hesitation, then turned around to ask Lier for a teacup.

  Looking at this beautiful girl kneeling down with a calm face, her movements were elegant and refined. A hint of jealousy flashed in Mrs. Gong's eyes. Why did this woman have the beauty and elegance that she didn't possess? If she had a face as beautiful as this girl's, would her brother-in-law be reluctant to let her go and marry her into this merchant family as his second wife?

  Feeling Li'er's inquiring gaze, Gongzi collected her thoughts and waved her hand: "The tea has gone cold, Li'er, go and get some hot tea."

  "Yes." Lier glanced at Yezhuo and backed down.

  Ye Zhuo's eyelashes trembled slightly, but he remained expressionless and knelt there, unmoving and silent. Fortunately, Lier didn't take long to return, and soon she came over with a tea tray, handing a cup of tea to Ye Zhuo.

  Yue Zhuo steadily took over the teacup, feeling the heat coming from it, and slightly raised the corner of his mouth, saying: "Madam, this tea is freshly brewed, Zhuo'er is worried that it will scald you."

  Miss Gong's original intention was to pretend that she hadn't held the tea firmly and would accidentally spill it on Ye Zhuo when handing it over, ideally scalding her own hands as well. This way, not only could she scald Ye Zhuo, but also make Ye Jia Ming punish her severely. However, she didn't expect Ye Zhuo to say something like that beforehand, which left her momentarily stunned.

  Pian Ye Zhuo finished speaking and turned to ask Li Er, "Li Er Jie, is this tea scalding hot? Later, the madam will drink it directly from her mouth. If she accidentally gets burned, it would be terrible."

  Lier was suddenly stunned, not knowing how to answer. If she said it wouldn't scald, then if someone got scalded later, Ye Zhuo's mistake would be blamed on herself, who told her to say it wouldn't scald? But if she said it would scald, under the watchful eyes of everyone, how could their own daughter still perform magic?

  She glanced at Gong and didn't get any hint, so she had to force herself to say: "It's... a bit hot."

  "Then trouble Lier sister to change a cup of warm tea. The lady is pregnant with a little brother, if she gets scalded, it's not good. I can kneel for a while, no problem." Ye Zhuo said, and handed the tea back.

  Ye Jiaming, after being treated rudely by Wang Yiniang and Ye Lin, was delighted to see that Ye Zhuo, who should have been resentful towards the Gong family, was instead being so considerate. He repeatedly agreed, "Right, right, it's better for Lier to change the tea cup anyway. Otherwise, if she gets scalded, it won't be a laughing matter."

  Gong's gaze towards Ye Zhuo deepened, and he waved his hand: "Forget it, they've waited long enough today. It's just a cup of hot tea, I'll be careful. Come on, Zhuo'er, give me the tea." After speaking, he stretched out his hand to take the teacup.

  Ye Zhuo responded with a sound, raising the teacup to his forehead, but didn't lower his head. His eyes stared at Mrs. Gong's outstretched hand as he reminded her, "Madam, please hold it steady, don't get burned."

  Ye Jiaming heard this and hastily leaned his body towards Gong's side, assuming a protective posture.

  Mrs. Gong glared at him and reached out to take the teacup, intending to pretend to accidentally drop it while turning her head. However, as soon as she took hold of it, the teacup didn't budge, with Ye Zhuo still holding onto the other end. And Ye Zhuo seemed to be cautious, saying, "Ma'am, hold on tight, I'm going to let go now."

  "Alright, I'm not seventy or eighty years old, do I need to repeat myself?" Mrs. Gong said impatiently, pulling the teacup slightly towards herself with a bit of force. Ye Zhuo had no choice but to let go. Before she could react, the teacup suddenly slipped out of control from both people and fell down from mid-air.

  Ye Zhuo was tense from start to finish, her eyes never leaving the cup of tea. As soon as she let go, her legs left the cushion and assumed a posture ready to retreat at any moment. Now, seeing that she had let go, Gong Shi also released her grip. She immediately stood up and retreated, only to hear a "ding" sound, and the Qinghua fine porcelain teacup fell to the floor. The tea water splashed onto her skirt, emitting a burst of hot air.

  "Oh no, you want to scald me to death!" Mrs. Gong cried out, covering her hands.

  Ye Jiaming had been tense since Ye Zhuo's repeated reminders, fearing that the hot tea would scald Mrs. Gong and affect the child in her womb, his eyes never leaving the teacup. At this moment, seeing Ye Zhuo release her hand, Mrs. Gong also let go, and her heart was lifted. Seeing the teacup being thrown forward in Ye Zhuo's direction, Ye Zhuo was quick-witted, and the tea only splashed onto her skirt hem, without causing any burns; Mrs. Gong was far from the teacup, presumably unscathed. Just as his heart had calmed down, he saw Mrs. Gong covering her hand and crying out in pain, hastily rushing forward to grasp it, while turning around to loudly scold Ye Zhuo: "What's wrong with you? Can't even hold a teacup steadily."

  "I told her to be careful..." Ye Zhuo stood there at a loss, saying in a wronged tone.

  Ye Jiaming glared at Ye Zhuo fiercely, then turned to look at Gong's hand. But unexpectedly, Gong suddenly withdrew her hand and refused to let him see it, her face stern and extremely displeased.

  But Wang's aunt had already risen to her heart, eagerly hoping that Gong would pour the tea on Ye's face. This way, she could not only disfigure Ye and resolve her hatred for Zheng and Ye, but also make the old master and mistress thoroughly dislike the newcomer Gong. However, unexpectedly, Ye dodged quickly and didn't get scalded at all, what a pity.

  However, Ye Zhuo wasn't scalded, but Gong shouted that she was scalded, which is also okay. She stirred up the situation a bit, and even if nothing happened, it would still be made into something.

  And, under repeated reminders, the teacup still fell over, and she couldn't believe that Gong wasn't doing it on purpose. If it was intentional, then how could her own hatred for Ye Zhuo compare to this? Now was not the time to fall into a well and hit the stone, let these two tigers fight each other, what were they waiting for?

  "So she spoke up, 'Second Miss, it's not that Aunt is being nosy, but even if you're resentful of your mother in your heart, do you have to harm the mistress so much? Not only did you try to scald the mistress with hot tea, but also wanted to scare the child in her belly. Your heart is really vicious! Humph, don't pretend to be innocent either. If you didn't mean it, how could you dodge so quickly and not get scalded at all, while the mistress got hurt?"

  Ye Zhuo raised her head, her gaze shooting towards Wang Niang like an arrow, then calmly withdrew it and looked at Gong Shi: "This cup of hot tea spilled over, either ruining my face or scalding the mistress. Mistress, think about it, whether I hurt myself or hurt you, what good would I get out of it? Now that I've scalded your hand, it's just me being careless for a moment. You can scold me, but as for intentionally doing it, I don't dare to take on that crime. Moreover, if this matter is pursued further, the old master and mistress beating me would be a small thing, but if they were to dislike you, that wouldn't be good. However, the one who would be most delighted in the end would probably be Wang Niang. The snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits. You're an intelligent person, mistress, I'm sure you understand."

  "What nonsense are you talking about? Who's happy, who benefits?" Wang Yiniang's intention was exposed by Ye Zhuo in public, and she was so angry that she wanted to jump up and slap her twice. However, she quickly suppressed the anger in her heart, turned around, squeezed out two tears, and said to Ye Jiaming: "Master, you've seen everything that happened. Whether Ye Zhuo did it on purpose or not, it's not what I said, but the fact is right in front of us. I... oh no, as a concubine, I'm just afraid that Madam will be deceived by her and suffer a miscarriage, which would be a great sin! As a concubine, I truly want Madam to give birth to a young master for Master, which is also the future reliance of me and Lin'er and Jue'er!"